Data letter
A data letter is a system with which people from companies , authorities or institutions are informed about their personal data stored there . The information letter is a requirement of the Chaos Computer Club to the Privacy Policy to improve. This should enable every citizen to get an overview of who is processing data about him and to what extent this is happening.
The Federal Data Protection Act regulates the right to information for those affected. In practice, however, this is often difficult to perceive, as there is often insufficient knowledge of which companies process or have stored the data of the person concerned. The data letter would change this and impose a notification obligation on authorities and companies. Once a year, every person concerned should receive unsolicited information about all of the data stored about them by post, email or other contact channels known to the company.
Since the data letter would also increase the costs of data storage, its introduction also promises that less data will be saved overall, in line with the principle of data economy and data avoidance.
A notification obligation comparable to the data letter had already been suggested in 1971 by Spiros Simitis , who later became the Hessian data protection officer . In his lecture Chances and Risks of Electronic Data Processing , Simitis demanded that it should not depend on chance whether the person concerned learns that information about himself is stored. The "databases" should therefore be obliged to "forward a copy of the information collected to the person concerned at regular intervals". Only such an obligation would ensure effective control and ensure a minimum of transparency.
Reactions
Federal Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maizière ( CDU ) and Federal Minister of Justice Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger ( FDP ) were initially open to the idea. Konstantin von Notz , spokesman for the Greens parliamentary group , welcomed this and called on de Maizière on behalf of his party to develop a concrete concept for it. In the Pirate Party , the demand for the data letter can be found in the election platform. There are also voices in the CSU in favor of a benevolent discussion of the proposal. On the other hand, Gisela Piltz , member of the Bundestag , who is responsible for data protection at the FDP, was critical: In order to avoid a “bureaucratic monster”, it “seems more expedient to further simplify the existing information tools for consumers”.
The reaction from the data protection authorities was initially consistently positive: The Federal Data Protection Commissioner, Peter Schaar , had announced that he would find an annual, printed “data extract” useful. He also proposes that every citizen be given online access to the data stored about them. The state data protection officer of Baden-Württemberg Peter Zimmermann said that if the legislature took the basic right to informational self-determination seriously, the introduction of a data letter would only be "logical".
Consumer advocates also support the project. The chairman of the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations, Gerd Billen, thinks the data letter is “basically a good idea”, also because many consumers do not even know “who is collecting all the data about them”.
There have even been positive reactions from the behavioral targeting industry itself: Stephan Noller from nugg.ad described the initiative as “excellent”. The data letter could alleviate citizens' fear of data collection through better information about the type of stored data and contribute to people learning data sovereignty and “we will become much more enlightened citizens”.
In the meantime, however, both the Federal Data Protection Commissioner Peter Schaar and Federal Justice Minister Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger have relativized their attitude towards the data letter and are rather skeptical of the data letter. The approach of increasing transparency is still welcomed. However, the Federal Minister of Justice is critical of the central consolidation of data that may be required in companies. The Federal Data Protection Commissioner sees problems in the practical implementation and criticizes the project as "not yet completely thought through".
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ I want to know what you know Article in the FAZ from February 6, 2010
- ↑ Spiros Simitis: Chances and Risks of Electronic Data Processing. To the problem of "data protection". Lecture given to the Legal and Political Science Association on February 9, 1971. Printed in: Neue Juristische Wochenschrift 16/1971, pp. 673–682.
- ↑ Simitis, NJW 16/1971, p. 673 (681).
- ^ Article in Die Zeit : "Interior Minister praises data letter" from February 27, 2010 (?)
- ↑ a b Also Minister of Justice for annual data protection letter . Announcement from Agence France-Presse from Monday, March 1st, 2010. ( Memento of the original of March 4th, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Bundestag election 2017 / election program - Piratenwiki. Retrieved October 15, 2019 .
- ↑ For example Manfred Weber, the head of the CSU in Lower Bavaria: "A very interesting suggestion.": Article in the taz: The CSU wants to be cool .
- ↑ Article in the taz: Debate on the data letter started .
- ↑ Article from the Landeszeitung Lüneburg: You don't need a private detective .
- ↑ Article in the taz: Collective mania should become transparent .
- ↑ Collecting data is too cheap Article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung of March 1st, 2010. ( Memento of the original of March 4th, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Article in Die Zeit: How predictable our behavior is .
- ↑ "Justice Minister and Federal Data Protection Officer view data letter skeptically"
